Throughout New Jersey, police officer retirements lead to leaner forces

Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey can claim something few people in his position in New Jersey can: He has led a big-city department through the economic downturn without laying off one police officer.

Instead of pink slips, Comey has been besieged by a historic surge in retirements that has touched all corners of the state. As a result, he has lost 103 officers, or about 12 percent of his overall force, forcing him to disband the community affairs department and the police academy, and transfer officers out of the traffic unit to keep up with neighborhood patrols.

"The retirements have hit us significantly," said Comey. "When we had 905 officers, we could afford the luxury of a community affairs unit, but we just don’t have those resources."

Jersey City, like other municipalities across the state, has not hired a new officer in at least 18 months.

New figures from the state Treasury Department show that retirements in the police and firefighter pension system — which also includes state corrections officers — swelled by 48 percent over the past two years. A separate report shows police and fire staffing levels dropped by 1,470 — or 4 percent — in 2011 when compared with 2010.

The exodus came as Gov. Chris Christie took office and waged a war on what he saw as lavish public benefits, such as payouts on unused sick time and low-cost health plans. The campaign struck fear in public employees and sent them retiring in droves to lock in their benefits.

"The continuing decline in public safety through loss of officers from attrition and layoffs is alarming," said Anthony Wieners, president of the state Policemen’s Benevolent Association. "Homicides and fatal accidents are going up while the number of officers are going down. These two trends are going in the wrong direction and jeopardize our state’s future."

The retirements have also hit the State Police, which lost 203 troopers in 2011, 197 of whom retired, according to statistics provided by the division. That brings the total number of enlisted members to 2,782 as of Friday, including the 85 new recruits who graduated from the academy earlier this month.

According to the State Police, 242 troopers — nearly 9 percent of enlisted personnel — have 25 or more years on the job, the time when most start turning in their badges and weapons. Another 398 troopers are close behind with at least 20 years of experience.

In addition, two troopers will reach the mandatory retirement age of 55 this year, the State Police said. Without the possibility of another graduating class until at least early 2013, the division’s enlisted ranks are expected to drop to their lowest levels in at least a decade.

"Retirements and maintaining staffing levels are a concern for any law enforcement agency, but our mission to protect the citizens of New Jersey will remain the same," State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes said in a statement.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the poor economy and budget restraints had an impact in just about every corner of municipal government, including law enforcement. He added the municipal spending had skyrocketed in the early part of the century, and part of the scale back was merely a correction. BLAMING UNIONS

He said unions exacerbated the situation — particularly in the cities of Camden, Trenton and Newark — by not agreeing to concessions and handcuffing local officials.

"We believe that, by making the hard choices now and confronting spending and budgeting issues forcefully, we are paving the way for stable, more efficient and affordable government at all levels," Drewniak said. "Realistic and responsible local leaders know this and some are taking innovative approaches to deliver services, including Camden’s move toward regionalization."

New Treasury Department figures show that public employees across the state continued to retire at a breakneck pace last year, with police and firefighters leading the surge.

Last year, 19,681 public employees from all levels of government called it quits, just shy of the more than 20,000 who retired in 2010, Treasury figures show. The state, comparatively, averaged 13,665 retirements annually from 2000 to 2009, figures show.

"Undoubtedly, there’s been a brain drain," said Bill Dressel, executive director of the League of Municipalities. "Towns are experiencing an unusually high number of retirements and its because of the policies decisions that are being made or being considered under the Golden Dome in Trenton."

Dressel said the retirements have created a complicated set of choices for municipal leaders. He said property tax revenue collections are still under stress and federal and state funding is uncertain, making it difficult to invest in new hires.

Evidence shows that many police departments are still holding off on hiring.

Last year, only 120 people graduated from the state’s various police academies, according to figures provided by the Police Training Commission. The figure is usually around 500, officials said.

The Essex County Police Academy held classes in the past two years with as few as seven people, said Rocco Miscia, director at the academy. He said the March class, however, has 30 people.

"It’s a sign that things may be picking up," said Miscia.

TIME TO RETIRE

One big reason for the rash of State Police departures is that many troopers who joined the force in a hiring boom a quarter of a century ago are now reaching retirement age. In addition, a State Police class designed to replenish the ranks was put on hold in 2010 because of tough budget times, making the most recent group of recruits the first to graduate in two years.

Former Attorney General Paula Dow said when she left office that replenishing the ranks of the State Police was a "major priority" and that the administration needed to make sure the division’s quality of law enforcement did not slip as the ranks thin.

Dow’s replacement, Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa, said recently he recognizes the coming attrition and will be speaking to Christie about a solution. He said there have been no discussions about downsizing the division to match staffing levels.

"But we’ll always look to put whatever resources we have at State Police to their best and most effective use," Chiesa said.

Christopher Burgos, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, said decisions about whether to change the work of the division is up to management, but given the new assignments taken on during the past decade and the retirements, "something’s got to give."

"It’s a give-and-take type thing," Burgos said. "If you want to fulfill the mission and you have less people, there’s going to be a cost incurred. That’s just part of the process."